The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #49572

Ruth B. Pickard, PhD, Dept. of Public Health Sciences, Witchita State University, 1845 Fairmount, Wichita, KS 67260-0152, 316-978+5637, rpickard@kscable.com and Nancy Milner, PhD, Department of Public Health Sciences, Wichita State University, 348 S. Brookside, Wichita, KS 67218.

Seeking ways to move from disarticulated individual field assignments, an educational and outreach center in a low-income, ethnically diverse neighborhood has evolved in four years from an experimental community-campus partnership housed in tiny church annex, to an integrated, multi-course curriculum that enriches both neighbors and students. Without university or government funding to date, the program relies heavily on small grants, local donations and the pro bono efforts of academics from four area universities, student interns, VISTA members, practicing health and social service professionals, and a wide range of community volunteers. On-going, intensive neighborhood canvasses are used to solicit information about values and priorities in the partner community as well as to build trust among parties typically wary of one another. The often fragile collaboration has overcome many challenges to create thriving projects such as Moms & Mentors, Educational Theatre, Circles of Sharing (domestic violence reduction & craft cooperative), a food cooperative, substance abuse prevention and education, and special events such as the annual jobs and health fair. Focused research projects conducted through the center have included a Vietnamese mental health study, a study of unmet dental needs, and a study of help-seeking behavior among southeast Asian immigrants. With no full-time, on-site director, a “Distributed Responsibility Model” delegates oversight of various projects to advisory councils with considerable decision-making autonomy. The use of cultural brokers and a partnership with a development company, have been key to the program’s success. The presentation will describe the Model and the steps involved in its implementation.

Learning Objectives: At its conclusion, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• Describe the benefits of using the Distributed Responsibility Model in grass roots community-campus partnerships
• Describe strategies for including in the partnership arrangements, neighbors speaking more than 19 different langages
• Describe benefits of offering a series of articulated courses in community epidemiology having content that flows from one course to the next

Keywords: Community-Based Public Health, Community-Based Partnership

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Healthy Options for Planeview (HOP), a community-campus partnership in health care, serves as an educational and outreach center for the Department of Public Health Sciences at Wichita State University where the lead author is an assistant professor.
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: Acting Director of HOP but receives no remuneration for this role